News and Current Affairs Posts

MinnPost asks: “Is Duluth in the Rust Belt?

UMD considering sale of KUMD radio station to WDSE-TV

KUMD has entered into a nonbinding letter of intent with Duluth-Superior Area Educational Television Corporation that could lead to the station being acquired and operated by WDSE-WRPT.

After months lying in wait, Boreal House open in West Duluth

Katie Fast, left, and Julie LaTourelle stand outside their new drinking establishment last summer, before remodeling work began. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

Duluthians Katie Fast and Julie LaTourelle will open the doors to West Duluth’s newest drinking establishment at 3 p.m. today. The Boreal House at 330 N. 57th Ave. W. sits adjacent to the neighborhood’s oldest drinking establishment, the Kom-on-Inn.

Beijing reopens; Valentini’s on the move to Hermantown

The restaurant options on London Road in Duluth are changing: Beijing Restaurant is reopening this week after a fire kept it shuttered for more than a year. Valentini’s Vicino Lago Italian Restaurant will close later this year as the business transitions to a new Hermantown location.

Ursa Minor offers Duluth’s first non-alcoholic craft beer

Ben Hugus with Ursa Minor's new NA beer

Ben Hugus with Ursa Minor’s new NA beer – Photo by Lissa Maki

Ursa Minor Brewing quietly became the first Duluth-area craft brewery to offer a non-alcoholic beer option back in December. The brewery’s Constellation Cream Ale, is now available sans intoxicants.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in NYT: BWCAW “unfathomably beautiful”

Actors Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are featured in the New York Times series “20 Odd Questions” today, promoting their new movie Downhill. When asked to name the “most underrated destination in America,” Louis-Dreyfus gave a nod to Quetico-Superior country, responding:

“The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. I went canoeing and I loved it. It is just unfathomably beautiful.”

Upper Deck restaurant at Bong Airport will become hangar

The Upper Deck Restaurant at 1415 N. 46th St. in Superior has been closed for more than a year. Its contents were auctioned off on Jan. 31. According to the Superior Telegram, the new owner will be turning the building into an airplane hangar.

TV News Spots Covering the City-Wide Snowball Fight

WDSE-TV launching fifth channel, PBS Kids

WDSE-TV will begin broadcasting the PBS Kids channel on Friday, Jan. 31. It will occupy channel 8.5 in Duluth; WIRT viewers in the Hibbing area will find it on channel 31.5.

The network features educational programming all day, and is available for live streaming at pbskids.org. Some notable programs include Arthur, Sesame Street and Wild Kratts.

It’s WDSE’s fifth channel, joining PBS North (8.1), Create (8.2), Explore (8.3) and MN Channel (8.4).

The primary PBS channel, PBS North, will continue to feature a PBS Kids daypart during the week and on weekend mornings. The schedule of children’s programming on PBS North will be different from PBS Kids.

Former Franklin Foods facility in Lincoln Park sold, eyed for possible hotel or apartment development

Property on the 1900 block of West First Street that once served as a milk processing facility could soon be redeveloped. It shares an alley with popular new enterprises in the Lincoln Park Craft District such as Flora North, Hemlock Leatherworks, Duluth Folk School, OMC Smokehouse, the Noble Pour and Duluth Tap Exchange.

A national hotel and apartment builder has purchased a large, blighted property inside the trendy, fast-growing Lincoln Park Craft District.

Northridge Accommodations LLC purchased the former Kemps dairy at 1928 W. First St. on Dec. 30. According to Minnesota Department of Revenue records, Franklin Foods sold the property — advertised as the largest contiguous site available in Lincoln Park — for $450,000.

PDD Quiz: January 2020 in Review

Test your knowledge of local headlines and happenings with this week’s PDD current events quiz!

The theme of the next quiz will test your knowledge of notable Twin Ports bathrooms (really!); it will be published on Feb. 9. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Feb. 5.

Viking Octantis cruise ship plans Duluth stops in 2022

Another cruise line is planning stops in Duluth. WDIO News reports that Viking Cruises plans to bring its Viking Octantis, currently under construction, to port here multiple times in 2022. Two weeks ago the Duluth Monitor reported Hapag-Lloyd Cruises will bring the Hanseatic Inspiration to Duluth twice this summer.

BoomTown will replace Sunset Bar & Grill

Grant secures 44 acres of western Skyline Parkway land

St. Louis River remedial action plan open to public comment

A draft version of the 2019 St. Louis River Area of Concern Remedial Action Plan is available on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource’s website. Public comments are being accepted through 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 21.